Escaped Russian ex-minister spotted in Spain
Former Minister of communications of Russia Nikolai Nikiforov, who is wanted in the case of financial pyramid Finiko, allegedly spotted in Barcelona
The former Minister of communications of Russia Nikolai Nikiforov, who is wanted in the case of financial pyramid Finiko, allegedly noticed in Barcelona. According to Business Online, this week he arrived in Spain from Cyprus, making a transfer in one of the European countries.
Nikiforov served as Minister of Communications and Mass Communications of Russia from 2012 to 2018. After leaving the civil service, he acquired real estate in Spain, where, according to sources, he is associated with several investment projects.
In Barcelona, the former official stayed in an ordinary city hotel. However, the city can only be an intermediate point of its route. Nikiforov left Russia shortly before the arrest of his business partner, architect Azat Tukhvatullin.
On September 17, the Meshchansky Court of Moscow arrested Nikiforov in absentia on charges of fraud on an especially large scale. The investigation also charges him with organizing a criminal community and considers him one of the founders of Finiko.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the financial pyramid operated from 2018 to 2021. Its activities affected residents of most Russian regions and more than a hundred foreign countries. Damage is estimated at more than 5 billion rubles, the number of victims is about 7.7 thousand people.
